Poem Tryouts: What Do You See?

28Oct

7:59 a.m. — Atlanta

listening to Neil Diamond singing Love Potion No. 9 — great fun

Hello, everyone. I hope all is running smoothly in your lives. Today’s images will provide an escape if you need one, wonderment, laughter, thought and possible bewilderment [don’t worry, I’ll take care of you]. The artist is Eugenia Loli and I was introduced to her work recently, by my niece.

Loli calls herself a modern vintage collage artist. Of her work, she says: It’s important for me to “say” something with my artwork… I usually do this via presenting a “narrative” scene in my collages, like there’s something bigger going on than what’s merely depicted. Sometimes the scene is witty or sarcastic, some times it’s horrific with a sense of danger or urgency, some times it’s chill. I leave it to the viewer’s imagination to fill-in the blanks of the story plot.

And, that’s where we come in: filling in the blanks. Pick one, or if you see a couple working together (Farscapes and All Fun & Games) more. You can look at the images as straightforward and tell the story you see. Or, look at an image and let it spark a poem about an implication you see.

A useful approach, when you have your image, is to jot down every single thing you see as you look at it. Everything. You are not worrying about sense: as you jot, your brain will start making connections and suggestions. When you have everything you see, down on paper, go back over your notes and the brain shifts into the next step, asking questions and filling out what you see.

Who’s disappearing? The man, or the dolphin? Does the dolphin represent something larger? Why does David have fish swimming around his head? For that matter, why are we getting a profile rather than David’s full face? What does the fracturing mirror imply in the picture with the woman combing her hair? What does it say about reflections, mirror images, our view of ourselves? Why is the fighter plane black and white while the candy it’s dropping is in colour? What does the image say?

For the last two you’ll need to go to the site, where you will see a few of Loli’s pieces. Clicking on any of them takes you to a series. David is the first in his series but when you click on the man and dolphin, you’ll need to scroll down.

I hear a wail. It’s okay. You do not have to get these collages. Remember, with any image sparked poem, you do not have to address the image. I have several ekphrastic poems, but you wouldn’t know it except when I acknowledge the artist and image. Those who are looking with bewilderment at this collection, look differently. You are looking for a spark of recognition. You have seen David in the flesh, so to speak? Let us have that memory. How the marble is so perfectly chiselled that you see a pulse beat in his throat. Have you ever felt torn in several directions at once? That takes care of the fractured woman combing her hair. You have been wanting to address the problem of dolphins and fishing nets? Go for it.

It’s all about how you see and we all see differently. Have fun with these.

I shall see you Thursday for links; Friday for the prompts roundup [and a new entry]; and next Tuesday for my prompt.

Oh, my Goodness, Margo! You described the possible reactions to these so perfectly…I have to say…being inspired is not a problem but picking is…sigh…there are a lot of good ones and I hope they give me wacky dreams! 🙂

I’ll be right back or I’ll see you tomorrow…soon. Thank you for the inspiring prompts, Margo!